FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-LEFT SOURCES
ABC7
— Father Pfleger, faith leaders call for boycott of Target after company scales back DEI initiatives (COMMENT: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly crow about their success in getting religious leaders to do their bidding. The Democrat Party platform is extremely anti-religious.)
https://abc7chicago.com/post/target-boycott-father-michael-pfleger-among-faith-leaders-calling-consumer-company-scales-back-dei-initiatives/15942947/
NBC5
— ‘Dark MAGA’ spreads as conservatives embrace Musk’s influence on Trump. The black “Dark MAGA” hats made popular by Elon Musk was heavily noticeable at an annual gathering of conservative activists.
https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/national-international/dark-maga-spreads-conservatives-musks-influence-trump/3681062/
CBS2
— Oak Park seeks to regulate hemp-derived THC products (COMMENT: Pot pushers want THC to be regulated because THC sales cut into pot sales.)
https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/oak-park-illinois-regulate-hemp-derived-thc-products/
FOX32
— Musk email to federal employees met with resistance (COMMENT: Because GAO is part of the legislative branch, if I was still working for GAO, I presume that I would not have gotten Musk’s email. But if had gotten his email, I would have stressed specific things that I did to fight fraud, waste, and abuse in the federal government. See https://www.google.com/search?q=gao+analyst+%22position+description for a description of what GAO Analysts do. During my last 11 years at GAO, I worked at the GS-13 Step 1-10 Levels, currently $117,807-$153,151/year.)
https://www.fox32chicago.com/news/elon-musk-email-federal-employees-trump-what-did-you-do-last-week
(FROM THE ARTICLE: Hundreds of thousands of federal employees have been directed to tell the Office of Personnel Management what they accomplished over the last week. Elon Musk, who’s been tasked with slashing federal spending, said they must reply within 48 hours or risk losing their jobs. Key federal agencies from the FBI and State Department to the Pentagon have instructed their employees not to comply.)
WBEZ
— Chicagoans mark three years since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. As the administration in Washington grows critical of Ukraine, hundreds waving flags filled the Wrigley Building plaza downtown Saturday to call for an end to the war.
https://www.wbez.org/politics/2025/02/23/ukraine-war-putin-zelenskyy-trump-nato-chicago
CHICAGO TRIBUNE
— Democratic governors balance whether to fight or pacify after Donald Trump threatens one of their own
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/02/23/democratic-governors-after-trump-threatens/?clearUserState=true
— The more planks in the Republican Party platform that a group promotes, the more that RINO leaders hint/imply/argue/shout that that group is an extremist group if not a hate group. Illinois Center Right Coalition (ICRC) and TAPROOT Republicans of Illinois promoted all the planks in the Republican Party platform. I should write about my critics/opponents who did the most to destroy ICRC and TAPROOT. I would focus on those who are still in power.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/02/23/chicago-police-extremism-task-force/
— Under the Democrats and under the RINOs, the more of the following that you are, the less likely that you will be hired, retained, and/or promoted: citizen of America, heterosexual, Republican, conservative, White, male, older, married, non-poor, Protestant, German American, and/or if your ancestors have been in America for a long time.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/02/24/opinion-end-racism-dei-affirmative-action/
— Hate-filled Trump-hating Trump-haters ever-increasingly promote more hatred against Trump.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/02/24/column-republican-voters-donald-trump-page/
CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
— ALL OF THE FRONT PAGE: Soon, if not already, everyone in health care in America will be more and more and more of the following: citizens of foreign countries, non-conservative, non-Republican, minority, female, younger, LGBTQ, non-Protestant, non-German American, and/or have ancestors who have not been in America for a long time.
https://chicago.suntimes.com/education/2025/02/24/illinois-medical-school-amissions-race-affirmative-action-black-hispanic-students
CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS
— Trump and Musk take aim at Loop’s Kluczynski, Metcalfe buildings (COMMENT: I worked in the Kluczynski building 1973-1980 for IRS and then for GAO 1980-1981.)
https://www.chicagobusiness.com/politics/trump-and-musk-take-aim-loops-kluczynski-metcalfe-buildings
SPRINGFIELD STATE JOURNAL REGISTER
— Overcoming sexual stigma: Springfield massage therapist shares experiences, hardships (COMMENT: Illinois Democrat leaders ever-increasingly promote prostitution.)
https://www.sj-r.com/story/news/local/2025/02/24/how-unlicensed-massage-parlors-sexually-stigmatize-massage-therapy/79187661007/
WCIA
— Trump, Musk aren’t the first to make deep cuts: Clinton-era initiative saved billions (COMMENT: During the Clinton-era, I worked for the Democrats who ran GAO. They used Clinton budget cuts to get rid of their Republican employees like me who were conservative, White, male, older, non-veteran, Protestant, German American, and/or had ancestors who had been in America for a long time.)
https://www.wcia.com/news/national/trump-musk-arent-the-first-to-make-deep-cuts-clinton-era-initiative-saved-billions/
(FROM THE ARTICLE: The Clinton administration also worked with Congress to authorize $25,000 buyouts for federal workers and ended up eliminating what Kamarck said were more than 400,000 federal positions between 1993 and 2000 through a combination of voluntary departures, attrition and a relatively small number of layoffs.)
NPR ILLINOIS
— Democrats say “CPAC is an annual meeting of conservative leaders” and ask “How’s it changed in recent years?” (COMMENT: From what I see, CPAC has ever-increasingly moved more toward Libertarianism.)
https://www.nprillinois.org/2025-02-22/cpac-is-an-annual-meeting-of-conservative-leaders-hows-it-changed-in-recent-years
— Democrats say “Two conservative events show how Trump has created a divide in the Republican Party.” (COMMENT: Trump got elected by promising to defend and advance the Republican Party platform. What Trump does against that platform divides the Republican Party.)
https://www.nprillinois.org/2025-02-23/two-conservative-events-show-how-trump-has-created-a-divide-in-the-republican-party
WREX
— Democrats ever-increasingly push more pot.
https://www.wrex.com/news/illinois-senate-to-be-presented-with-bill-that-could-stop-police-from-searching-a-vehicle/article_c91efbd2-f25b-11ef-8879-0b0dd6cd474e.html
NORTHERN PUBLIC RADIO
— What does Trump’s pick for labor secretary tell us about his priorities for workers? (COMMENT: I should write about what picks by Republican leaders say about those leaders. I would focus on the leaders of the Illinois Republican Party (IRP), DuPage County Republican Central Committee, Milton Township Republican Organization (MTRO) and the Republican leaders of Illinois, DuPage County, Milton Township, and Wheaton since 2000. Ever-increasingly their picks reject more and more and more planks in the Republican Party platform. Ever-increasingly, their picks paint themselves as being Democrat-Lite, if not anti-conservative, if not anti-Republican. I would focus on those leaders whose picks took the most/biggest adverse actions against me. MTRO leaders fired me as MTRO webmaster in 2004 and 2010. Wheaton leaders fired me as a member of the Wheaton Chamber of Commerce Government Affairs Committee in 2011 and as the Republican fundraiser for Wheaton Independence Day parades in 2021. IRP leaders fired me as a member of the IRP State Convention Platform and Resolutions Committee in 2024. Republican leaders had their operatives and dupes fire me as a) an American Association of Political Consultants Midwest Chapter board member in 2004, b) an Illinois Center Right Coalition Steering Committee in 2007, and c) as the TAPROOT Republicans of Illinois chairman in 2012.)
https://www.northernpublicradio.org/2025-02-23/what-does-trumps-pick-for-labor-secretary-tell-us-about-his-priorities-for-workers
UIC TODAY
— FEBRUARY 17, 2015 FLASHBACK: Circle Back, UIC Forward: UIC remembers its roots (COMMENT: I attended UIC 1966-1968.)
https://today.uic.edu/circle-back-uic-forward/
AXIOS CHICAGO
— Why the Obama Presidential Center is immune to Trump’s cuts
https://www.axios.com/local/chicago/2025/02/19/obama-presidential-center-immune-trumps-spending-cuts
ILLINOIS EAGLE
— State rep calls for equity in funding for HIV in Black community
https://illinoiseagle.com/2025/02/22/eaglets-state-rep-calls-for-equity-in-funding-for-hiv-in-black-community/
POLITICO ILLINOIS
— How Pritzker’s speech was written
https://www.politico.com/newsletters/illinois-playbook/2025/02/24/how-pritzkers-speech-was-written-00205688
— A Trump visit (COMMENT: I used to attend such Republican events and post such reports on them, but not as detailed. But I stopped because leaders of the Milton Township Republican Organization, DuPage County Republican Central Committee, and Illinois Republican Party ever-increasingly punished me for doing that. I should write about the aforesaid leaders. I would focus on those still in power.)
https://www.politico.com/newsletters/illinois-playbook/2025/02/24/how-pritzkers-speech-was-written-00205688
(FROM THE ARTICLE: Lara Trump, the former co-chair of the Republican National Committee and daughter-in-law of the president, visited Illinois on Friday making a bold statement that Illinois could turn red in 2028 — and she revealed some insight about President Donald Trump’s executive moves. She had stats: “Donald Trump in 2016 got 38 percent of the vote here. In 2020, 40 percent of the vote. In 2024, he got 45 percent of the vote in the state of Illinois. I want you guys to understand something. We are about to turn the state of Illinois in the next presidential election to a red state,” Trump told a crowd of 500 at Venuti’s Italian restaurant in Addison. The event was a fundraiser for McHenry County GOPAC. Lara Trump also offered a glimpse into the thinking of the president’s recent executive actions. During his first term, she said, the president was told repeatedly, “You need to fit into this specific mold. And so he tried to fit into that mold, and he got a lot of great things accomplished.” That changed in his second term: He’s “looking at things differently,” Lara Trump said. The president “isn’t trying to fit in that mold anymore. He said, ‘You know what? I’m going to come into this White House, and I’m going to do things my way this time.’” ABC 7’s Liz Nagy has more. SPOTTED: Illinois GOP Chair Kathy Salvi, House Republican Leader Tony McCombie and Republican state Reps. Martin McLaughlin, John Cabello, Jed Davis, Regan Deering, Bradley Fritts, Amy Grant, Jeff Keicher, Patrick Sheehan, Dennis Tipsword, Dan Ugaste and Tom Weber. Also in the room: Former state Sen. Darren Bailey, who’s mulling a run for office again. “Stay tuned,” he says.)
CAPITOL FAX
— Morning briefing
https://capitolfax.com/2025/02/24/isabel%e2%80%99s-morning-briefing-460/
FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES
GOPUSA ILLINOIS
— What do your critics/opponents do? My critics/opponents focus on stopping me from sending out GOPUSA ILLINOIS newsletters, and failing that, they focus on stopping everyone from reading my newsletters. I should write about my critics/opponents and the biggest adverse actions that they have had their operatives and dupes take against me since 2000. I would focus on my critics/opponents who are still in power. – Dave Diersen
http://www.gopollinois.com
— Are your critics/opponents anti-Trump? My critics/opponents are anti-Trump if not Trump-haters. I should write about my critics/opponents. I would focus on those who have taken the most/biggest adverse actions against e since 201`5. I would focus on those who are still in power. – Dave Diersen
http://www.gopillinois.com
— Because GAO is part of the legislative branch, if I was still working for GAO, I presume that I would not have gotten Musk’s email. But if had gotten his email, I would have stressed specific things that I did to fight fraud, waste, and abuse in the federal government. See https://www.google.com/search?q=gao+analyst+%22position+description for a description of what GAO Analysts do. During my last 11 years at GAO, I worked at the GS-13 Step 1-10 Levels, currently $117,807-$153,151/year.- Dave Diersen
http://www.gopillinois.com
— The more planks in the Republican Party platform that a group promotes, the more that RINO leaders hint/imply/argue/shout that that group is an extremist group if not a hate group. Illinois Center Right Coalition (ICRC) and TAPROOT Republicans of Illinois promoted all the planks in the Republican Party platform. I should write about my critics/opponents who did the most to destroy ICRC and TAPROOT. I would focus on those who are still in power. – Dave Diersen
http://www.gopillinois.com
— During the Clinton-era, I worked for the Democrats who ran GAO. They used Clinton budget cuts to get rid of their Republican employees like me who were conservative, White, male, older, non-veteran, Protestant, German American, and/or had ancestors who had been in America for a long time. – Dave Diersen
http://www.gopillinois.com
— I should write about what picks by Republican leaders say about those leaders. I would focus on the leaders of the Illinois Republican Party (IRP), DuPage County Republican Central Committee, Milton Township Republican Organization (MTRO) and the Republican leaders of Illinois, DuPage County, Milton Township, and Wheaton since 2000. Ever-increasingly their picks reject more and more and more planks in the Republican Party platform. Ever-increasingly, their picks paint themselves as being Democrat-Lite, if not anti-conservative, if not anti-Republican. I would focus on those leaders whose picks took the most/biggest adverse actions against me. MTRO leaders fired me as MTRO webmaster in 2004 and 2010. Wheaton leaders fired me as a member of the Wheaton Chamber of Commerce Government Affairs Committee in 2011 and as the Republican fundraiser for Wheaton Independence Day parades in 2021. IRP leaders fired me as a member of the IRP State Convention Platform and Resolutions Committee in 2024. Republican leaders had their operatives and dupes fire me as a) an American Association of Political Consultants Midwest Chapter board member in 2004, b) an Illinois Center Right Coalition Steering Committee in 2007, and c) as the TAPROOT Republicans of Illinois chairman in 2012.)
— Who are the members of the conservative news media in Illinois? What are their positions on me and on my GOPUSA ILLINOIS newsletters? According to my critics/opponents, me and my newsletters cause all their problems, all of your problems, all of my problems, and all of everyone’s problems. They want to stop me from sending my newsletters out, and failing that, they want to stop everyone from reading them. Everyone in Illinois sees how members of the conservative news media in Illinois treat me and treat my newsletters. – Dave Diersen
http://www.gopillinois.com
— Why is DOGE needed? I worked for the Democrats who ran GAO for almost 18 years 1980-1997. Fewer and fewer and fewer of my superiors, supervisors, coworkers, and subordinate were Republicans. Toward the end, virtually none were Republicans. If Gingrich had reformed GAO instead of gutting it in the 1990s, there would be no need for DOGE today. The Democrats who ran GAO used Gingrich’s budget cuts to get rid of the agency’s few remaining Republican employees including me. Federal agencies run by Democrats do not want Republicans to audit them. Federal agencies run by Republicans do not want Democrats to audit them. Solutions include requiring half of GAO’s employees and its audit teams to be Republicans and half to be Democrats. When auditing agencies headed by Democrats, the lead auditors would be Republicans. When auditing agencies headed by Republicans, the lead auditors would be Democrats. – Dave Diersen
http://www.gopillinois.com
— Anticipate/expect that ever-increasingly, if you are a Republican in Illinois, the more of the following that you are, the more that hate-filled Trump-hating Trump-haters like Pritzker will call you a Nazi: conservative, White, male, older, non-poor, Protestant, German American, and/or if your ancestors have been in America for a long time. To call someone a Nazi in America today is like calling someone a Jew in Germany during the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s. Pritzker ever-increasingly makes it clear that he is going to get rid of all Republicans in Illinois once and for all. – Dave Diersen
http://www.gopillinois.com
— Democrat leaders ever-increasingly a) paint Republicans as being oppressors and b) paint Democrats as being protectors. According to Democrat leaders, Republicans oppress those who are liberal/moderate, minority, female, younger, LGBTQ, non-rich, disabled, non-Protestant, non-German American, have ancestors who have not been in America for a long time, citizens of foreign countries, boozers, gamblers, stoners, criminals, etc. – Dave Diersen
http://www.gopillinois.com
WIREPOINTS
— New Trier High School Led On Woke Education. It Should Lead The Way Out.
https://wirepoints.org/new-trier-high-school-led-on-woke-education-it-should-lead-the-way-out-wirepoints/
BREAKTHROUGH IDEAS
— Come Out, Come Out, Wherever You Are, Wheaton College Lefties
https://www.breakthrough-ideas.com/read/2025/02/21/come-out-come-out-wherever-you-are-wheaton-college-lefties
MCHENRY COUNTY BLOG
— Danjela Sandberg Mails in Support of Her Candidacy for Road Commissioner on Tuesday
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2025/02/22/danjela-sandberg-mails-in-support-of-her-candidacy-for-road-commissioner-on-tuesday/
Danijela Sandberg Makes Second Mailing in Campaign to Remain Algonquin Township Road Commissioner
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2025/02/23/danijela-sandberg-makes-second-mailing-in-campaign-to-remain-algonquin-township-road-commissioner/
— You Won’t See Stories Like This about McHenry County Restaurants
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2025/02/23/you-wont-see-stories-like-this-about-mchenry-county-restaurants/
— Durbin Holds Lonely Protest
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2025/02/23/durbin-holds-lonely-protest/
— Rob Parrish Mails before Election on Which He Is Not on the Ballot
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2025/02/22/rob-parrish-mails/
— Reaction to Pritzker’s Announcement That Lake Michigan Shall Henceforth Be Called “Lake Illinois”
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2025/02/23/reaction-to-pritzkers-announcement-that-lake-michigan-shall-henceforth-be-called-lake-illinois/
— The Censures of Algonquin Township Supervisor Randy Funk – Part 7
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2025/02/23/the-censures-of-algonquin-township-supervisor-randy-funk-part-7/
— Pritzker Hit New Low with Nazi Charge, According to Jewish News Syndicate
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2025/02/23/pritzker-hit-new-low-with-nazi-charge-according-to-jewish-news-syndicate/
— The CBS Gal Who Thinks Freedom of Speech Led to the Nazi Holocaust
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2025/02/23/the-cbs-gal-who-thinks-freedom-of-speech-led-to-the-nazi-holocaust/
FROM NATIONAL CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES
WASHINGTON TIMES
— GOP States threaten fines and jail time for local officials who resist Trump’s immigration crackdown. (COMMENT: What is Pritzker doing to stop enforcement of federal immigration laws in your county, township, municipality, and school district?)
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2025/feb/23/gop-states-threaten-fines-jail-time-local-officials-resist-trumps/
— Patel tells FBI employees to ignore Musk’s email on work reporting, for now
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2025/feb/23/kash-patel-tells-fbi-employees-ignore-elon-musk-email-work-reporting/
WASHINGTON EXAMINER
— Pentagon tells personnel not to respond to Musk-backed accomplishments email
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/defense/3327666/pentagon-tells-personnel-not-respond-musk-accomplishments-email/
AMERICAN CONSERVATIVE
— The Mellon Foundation’s Assault on American History. The organization bankrolls the deconstruction of our heroes and founding principles.
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/the-mellon-foundations-assault-on-american-history/
AMERICAN THINKER
— The AP’s feelings get hurt; it’s a First Amendment crisis!
https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2025/02/the_ap_s_feelings_get_hurt_it_s_a_first_amendment_crisis.html
— Lies, damn lies, and statistics—or, in the case of Democrats, polls
https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2025/02/lies_damn_lies_and_statistics_or_in_the_case_of_democrats_polls.html
BREITBART
— Jane Fonda Uses SAG Life Achievement Award Speech to Push Hollywood to Resist Trump: ‘Woke Means You Give a Damn About Other People’ (COMMENT: To be woke is to promote more hatred against Republicans who are conservative, White, male, older, Protestant, German American, and/or have ancestors who have been in America for a long time.)
https://www.breitbart.com/entertainment/2025/02/23/jane-fonda-uses-sag-life-achievement-award-speech-to-push-hollywood-to-resist-trump-woke-just-means-you-give-a-damn-about-other-people/
— More Artists and Celebrities Canceling Shows at Kennedy Center to Protest Trump (COMMENT: Overwhelmingly, increasingly, artists and celebrities are anti-conservative, anti-Republican, anti-American, anti-White, anti-male, anti-older people, anti-heterosexual, anti-non poor people, anti-Protestant, anti-German American, and/or anti-those who have ancestors who have been in America for a long time.)
https://www.breitbart.com/entertainment/2025/02/23/more-artists-and-celebrities-canceling-shows-at-kennedy-center-to-protest-trump/
DAILY SIGNAL
— What Has Changed in the Darien Gap Under Trump’s Presidency?
https://www.dailysignal.com/2025/02/23/darien-gap-migration-slows-from-torrent-trickle-under-trump/
FOX NEWS
— Musk’s demand that fed employees list their accomplishments roils workforce: ‘Mass civil disobedience’ ‘This is a good opportunity for mass civil disobedience,’ Democratic Rep. Sean Casten posted to X.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/musks-demand-fed-employees-list-accomplishments-roils-workforce-mass-civil-disobedience
— CPAC attendees say Trump ‘activated’ new media conservatism (COMMENT: Who are the members of the conservative news media in Illinois? What are their positions on me and on my GOPUSA ILLINOIS newsletters? According to my critics/opponents, me and my newsletters cause all their problems, all of your problems, all of my problems, and all of everyone’s problems. They want to stop me from sending my newsletters out, and failing that, they want to stop everyone from reading them. Everyone in Illinois sees how members of the conservative news media in Illinois treat me and treat my newsletters.)
https://www.yahoo.com/news/watch-cpac-attendees-trump-activated-140716949.html
LEGAL NSURRECTION
— Reports of the Death of DEI are Greatly Exaggerated (COMMENT: I should write about how DEI continues to be enforced in Wheaton, Milton Township, DuPage County, and Illinois.)
https://legalinsurrection.com/2025/02/video-reports-of-the-death-of-dei-are-greatly-exaggerated/
— American Bar Association Temporarily Suspends DEI Enforcement (COMMENT: I should write about how DEI continues to be enforced in Wheaton, Milton Township, DuPage County, and Illinois.)
https://legalinsurrection.com/2025/02/american-bar-association-temporarily-suspends-dei-enforcement/
FROM NATIONAL CENTER-LEFT SOURCES
THE HILL
— Hegseth responds to blowback over Friday night Pentagon purge
https://thehill.com/policy/defense/5159850-defense-secretary-hegseth-defends-firings/
ASSOCIATED PRESS
— Georgia and other states threaten fines and jail time for local officials who resist immigration crackdown
https://www.wabe.org/georgia-and-other-states-threaten-fines-and-jail-time-for-local-officials-who-resist-immigration-crackdown/
MSN
— Trump Sparks Firestorm By Sending Illegals to Guantanamo
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/appalling-trump-sparks-firestorm-by-sending-migrants-to-guantanamo/ss-AA1zu3Ht
— Trump Wants To End the EV Tax Credit — Are EVs Still Worth Buying? (COMMENT: I have ordered a 2025 Dodge Charger Daytona R/T EV. What positions do my critics/opponents have on that?)
https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/news/trump-wants-to-end-the-ev-tax-credit-are-evs-still-worth-buying/ar-AA1yACUF
ABC NEWS
— Fired Joint Chiefs chairman posts farewell message (COMMENT: Because my Democrat GAO superiors forced me to retire when I was 49 years old in 1997, I did much more than post a farewell message, I sued them. SEE: https://gopillinois.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/DiersenGAOFifthAmendedComplaint.pdf )
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/live-updates/trump-2nd-term-live-updates/?id=119115308
CBS NEWS
— Homan says he’s “bringing hell” to sanctuary city Boston
https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/immigration-tom-homan-president-trump-sanctuary-city-boston/
NEW YORK TIMES
— Some Trump Officials Push Back Against Musk’s Ultimatum to Workers
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/23/us/politics/elon-musk-email-federal-workers.html
— Does Elon Musk Still Care About Selling Cars? Mr. Musk, one of President Trump’s main advisers, has not outlined a plan to reverse falling sales at the electric car company of which he is chief executive.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/20/business/elon-musk-tesla-trump.html
(FROM THE ARTICLE: The chief executive’s polarizing social media posts and work in the Trump administration were driving away customers, prompting some employees to leave and making it harder to recruit new talent to Tesla, the manager said, according to an audio recording of the meeting reviewed by The New York Times. . .Some investors said that Mr. Musk’s lack of interest in selling cars was apparent in how little he had said about Mr. Trump’s initiatives that could hurt Tesla’s sales. The chief executive of Ford, Jim Farley, last week said that some of Mr. Trump’s plans to repeal Biden era incentives for electric cars could force the company to lay off workers. But Mr. Musk has said nothing publicly about them.)
— Prison Officials Detail Treatment of Trans Inmates Under Trump Gender Order (COMMENT: Inmates who say that they are LGBTQ should be housed with other inmates who say that they are LGBTQ.)
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/21/us/trump-trans-women-prison.html
— Trump Just Fired 6,700 I.R.S. Workers in the Middle of Tax Season. That’s a Huge Mistake. (COMMENT: I was involved in IRS’s 1974 tax season big time. Have you ever phoned IRS with a tax question? If you did during the 1974 filing season, the IRS employee who answered your call was one of my subordinates. Back then, as a 25-year-old GS-11 (currently $82,655/year) IRS Revenue Officer, I supervised all of the IRS employees, which included a rotating staff of about 90 IRS Revenue Agent trainees, in IRS’s new downtown Chicago office who answered taxpayer questions using IRS’s new tollfree CentiPhone system. Because of my job performance, the IRS manager who had given me that developmental opportunity and who had promoted me in 1972 and 1973 promoted me to GS-12 (currently $99,069/year) in 1974.)
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/24/opinion/irs-taxes-trump.html
WASHINGTON POST
— Democrat and RINO leaders ever-increasingly promote more illegal immigration
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/02/23/panama-united-states-migration-trump/4518008e-f226-11ef-acb5-08900d482a27_story.html
— Trump announces conservative podcaster Dan Bongino as FBI deputy director. The appointment of Bongino, a former Secret Service agent and NYPD officer turned conservative radio host, puts a second Trump ally at the top of the agency.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2025/02/23/dan-bongino-fbi-deputy-director-trump/
WALL STREET JOURNAL
— Trump Paralyzes the U.S. Wind Power Industry. The president, who despises wind turbines, has paused federal permits and leasing for such projects, putting company plans in limbo.
https://www.wsj.com/business/energy-oil/trump-paralyzes-the-u-s-wind-power-industry-21fd4c7a
FORBES
— Democrat and RINO employers ever-increasingly use DEI a) to not hire Republicans and b) to get rid of their Republican employees.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/marybethgasman/2025/02/23/how-leaders-are-unpacking-trumps-anti-dei-actions/
CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR
— Trump and Musk cite fraud, but what does a government audit really look like? (COMMENT: I worked for the Democrats who ran GAO for almost 18 years 1980-1997. Fewer and fewer and fewer of my superiors, supervisors, coworkers, and subordinate were Republicans. Toward the end, virtually none were Republicans. If Gingrich had reformed GAO instead of gutting it in the 1990s, there would be no need for DOGE today. The Democrats who ran GAO used Gingrich’s budget cuts to get rid of the agency’s few remaining Republican employees including me. Federal agencies run by Democrats do not want Republicans to audit them. Federal agencies run by Republicans do not want Democrats to audit them. Solutions include requiring half of GAO’s employees and its audit teams to be Republicans and half to be Democrats. When auditing agencies headed by Democrats, the lead auditors would be Republicans. When auditing agencies headed by Republicans, the lead auditors would be Democrats.)
https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2025/0224/trump-musk-government-fraud-doge
(FROM THE ARTICLE: Every year, the federal government could be losing between $233 billion and $521 billion to fraud, according to the Government Accountability Office (GAO). At the high end, that is about 8% of the $6.75 trillion the federal government spent in its last fiscal year. . .If the GAO were to initiate an agency audit, it would use a standardized process that involves gathering the right group of people, meeting with interested parties to iron out goals and get feedback, collecting and examining evidence, reviewing comments on drafts and findings, and writing a comprehensive report. In all, the process might take nine months. “It’s a really rigorous process,” says Rebecca Shea, a director in GAO’s Forensic Audits and Investigative Service. “Every word in the report, every line, every number, is indexed and referenced. It is tied back, linked back, to a piece of evidence that we have collected.” DOGE, by contrast, has started down a much different path. Instead of deliberation, it has moved with entrepreneurial speed. Instead of the fact-checking rigor of a GAO audit, Mr. Musk has made unsubstantiated claims, some of which have turned out to be false. “Nobody’s going to bat a thousand,” he told reporters in a recent press briefing. He promised to quickly fix any problems.)
NPR
— Democrats say “Two conservative events show how Trump has created a divide in the Republican Party.”
https://www.npr.org/2025/02/23/nx-s1-5300044/two-conservative-events-show-how-trump-has-created-a-divide-in-the-republican-party
GOVERNING
— The Unacceptable Risk Sanctuary Cities Pose for Public Safety. The consequences of sanctuary policies extend far beyond the ideological debate surrounding immigration enforcement. These policies enable criminal networks to make communities more dangerous.
https://www.governing.com/urban/the-unacceptable-risk-sanctuary-cities-pose-for-public-safety
DAILY CAMPUS
— Anticipate/expect that ever-increasingly, if you are a Republican in Illinois, the more of the following that you are, the more that hate-filled Trump-hating Trump-haters like Pritzker will call you a Nazi: conservative, White, male, older, non-poor, Protestant, German American, and/or if your ancestors have been in America for a long time. To call someone a Nazi in America today is like calling someone a Jew in German during the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s. Pritzker ever-increasingly makes it clear that he is going to get rid of all Republicans in Illinois once and for all.
https://dailycampus.com/2025/02/24/trump-and-hitler-drawing-the-parallels/
INSIDE HIGHER EDUCATION
— Democrats used to promote integration. Now they promote segregation.
https://www.insidehighered.com/opinion/views/2025/02/24/colleges-must-stand-new-segregationists-opinion
AXIOS
— Democrat leaders ever-increasingly a) paint Republicans as being oppressors and b) paint Democrats as being protectors. According to Democrat leaders, Republicans oppress those who are liberal/moderate, minority, female, younger, LGBTQ, non-rich, disabled, non-Protestant, non-German American, have ancestors who have not been in America for a long time, citizens of foreign countries, boozers, gamblers, stoners, criminals, etc.
https://www.axios.com/2025/02/23/trump-attacks-dei-diversity-disability
DAILY MAIL
— Pam Bondi’s brutal three-word response to Democrat governors refusing to deport illegal migrants
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14427009/pam-bondi-three-word-response-democrat-governor-deport-migrants.html
